Ohio Education

Ohio’s oldest university: Ohio University, founded in 1804.

The state of Ohio was admitted into the Union in 1803, becoming the 17th state and the first to be admitted under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance. It is also thus that Ohio became the site of the very first public university in the Northwest Territory. With the 1804 establishment of the University of Ohio in Athens. Today, it is the 4th largest university in the state with an enrollment of nearly 40,000 students.

As the 7th most populous state in the nation—and home to more than 400,000 students in 2013—Ohio has no shortage of large schools, or schools of any size for that matter. Its public institutions number 59. There are also 76 private non-profit schools distributed throughout the state. It also bears noting that Ohio is, at the time of writing, home to the above-average sum of 83 for-profit colleges as well.

Fortunately, Ohio’s largest school is also among its very best. Ohio State was established in 1870, just three miles from the center of Columbus, Ohio’s capital and most populous city. Ohio State constitutes no small part of that population. With roughly 58,000 students occupying its 1,765 acres, Ohio State is the third largest school in the U.S. as well as 65th best school in the world according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

The state school is also home to the single largest all-brass and percussion band in the world and to the Buckeyes athletics programs, one of only five universities to have earned a national championship in men’s basketball, baseball, and football.

In addition to a state known for its proud collegiate sporting tradition, Ohio is often referred to as a political bellwether state, one whose politics and ideals are often seen as a perfect microcosm of this diverse nation of ours. Look no further than Oberlin College for proof. Founded in 1833, it was at once the first coeducational and interracial college in the nation. This diversity was no doubt an asset to the school as it opened what is now the oldest continuously operating music conservatory in the nation. Today, the intimate campus serves 2,900 students.